


bitter(sweet)

by Rosyredlipstick



Series: AU Solangelo Fic [24]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Banter, Friendship, M/M, Other, not a coffeeshop AU, tag for leo's whole character, will is in the eternal hell of being a grad student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-23 02:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19141426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosyredlipstick/pseuds/Rosyredlipstick
Summary: There’s a coffeeshop, it’s an AU, but this is not a coffee shop AU.At least, as long as Nico di Angelo has anything to say about it-Or, where Nico di Angelo owns a coffee shop, but absolutely refuses to let his life become a chick flick. Without much success, of course.





	bitter(sweet)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for my incredible editor rina!!! ilysm!!! you mean so much to me! im so sorry im so bad at spelling omg. love u dory!

“Blake, I…” Triston trailed off, his sparkling chestnut eyes gazing away in agony. “Blake, I love you, and I don't care what anyone says -- I know you’re the love of my life!”

“Triston,” Tears were glittering in Blake’s ocean blue eyes, “I know we’re only teenagers and we’ve only been together a month, but you’re the love of my life too! There won’t ever be a day where I don’t think so!”

“We’re going to be together forever,” Blake whimpered, leaning in closer to the other teen, “high school be damned.”

But before the matching heat in their gazes could transfer to matching heat from their mouths, they both jerked back in surprise as a sudden, complete freezing cold enveloped them.

From behind the silver of the now empty bucket, Nico di Angelo only gave the couple an unimpressed look as they looked down at them.

“You’re stinking up the place with your pink-hued cow eyes.” He let the bucket fall to his side, not even a little ashamed as the rest of the cold water dripped down onto the concrete. “Get out of here.”

Both teens cursed and jumped apart and thankfully stomped off the property, but only after promising to leave an unkind Yelp review -- like that was the worst threat they could think of. Nico snorted and headed back inside, a jump in his step.

“You’re an asshole,” Mitchell told him from behind the counter, somehow amused. “You’re going to drive away all our customers.”

“Like I want those hipsters in my store,” Nico muttered as he tucked the bucket away in the supply closet. They’d probably be needing it again for whatever lovesick loiterers tried to ruin the shop’s aesthetic next time.

Mitchell sighed, somehow a tease still in the sound. “I don’t know what you have against hipsters considering-”

“If you call me a hipster,” Nico cut him off, his voice nearly deadly, “you’re out of a job.”

Mitchell snorted and threw a dish rag over his shoulder. “Like you could afford to fire me.” Rude. True, but rude. “And as I was saying, this place basically screams hipster. You shouldn’t be surprised with how you’re attracting them like flies.”

“It does not _scream_ -”

“Wood paneling,” Mitchell pointed to the wall. “Industrial stools. Exposed piping. Black tile counters. For gods sake, our menus are printed on old newspapers, Nico.”

“Persephone did most of the interior design,” Nico mumbled, “and the newspaper is _cool.”_

“To hipsters, maybe.” To Mitchell’s credit, his voice was almost sympathetic. “We serve locally made soda in weird looking glass bottles. That’s as hipster as it gets.”

“I’m supporting my fellow small businesses!” Nico felt the need to defend. “Is that a crime?”

“Did someone mention crime?” Nico was groaning even as he and Mitchell turned to the new voice. Leo was already grinning at them as he threw his bag on the counter and joined them. He must have come through the employee entrance then, which was most definitely locked shut. Nico hoped he at least had the decency to lock it behind him. “That’s basically my specialty.”

“di Angelo is still in denial about the hipster heaven he’s created,” Mitchell said, turning to load up a bin with dirty dishes to take them to the back. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

“Aw, Neeks, baby,” Leo gave him a pitying look, “you know when you actively hate them, that makes them want you more, right? It’s kindergarten logic.”

“You would know,” Nico rolled his eyes, “being at that mental level and all.”

“Oooh sick burn,” Leo put a hand over his heart. “You’ve wounded me. I can’t go on.”

“Thank the gods,” Nico muttered. Mitchell shot him a humoring look as he disappeared into the back, probably getting ready for their dinner rush. Mitchell was good like that.

Leo was still lamenting upon his injured soul or whatever.

“-and so in order to continue on, as my loving Jason would want, I require sustenance.”

Nico spun back towards him but still wasn’t quick enough to stop Leo from dumping an entire cup full of mini cookies into his mouth. Around his puffed out cheeks, he gave Nico a smug grin. Ugh. That’s what Nico gets for turning his back.  

“What are you even doing here?” Nico leaned back onto the counter. “I thought you were working? Weren’t you complaining about it yesterday?”

It took Leo a few seconds -- still shockingly fast -- to swallow his double mouthful of sweets. “Nyssa covered my shift,” he finally got out, yet still managed to spill an array of crumbs down his shirt. He was _so_ lucky the shop was empty at the moment. He gave Nico a considering look. “You know, I wouldn’t complain about my job so much if you just -”

“No.”

“C’mon di Angelo,” Leo had his sweet-talkin voice glossing over his words as he leaned back onto the counter with easy eyes. God, only at the most inconvenient times was Nico harshly reminded of their short -- and mostly physical -- previous relationship. This was one of those times. “Pipes and I, we’re already here all the time. And Jason -- if Pipes and I are always here, you know Jason’s pretty face will be hanging around and bringing in the customers at all hours. Honestly, hiring us just makes financial sense if you consider it.”

“My customers are just fine,” Nico didn’t even look up from where he was scrubbing down the counter. “And Mitchell and I are handling the shop just fine. And _he_ follows my rules. Well. _Rule_.”

Mitchell, rushing by with another tray of dirty mugs tucked into his hip, tossed them both a smirk as he overheard. “No dating the customers!” He recited loyally, dipping into the back.

Nico gave the other man an approving nod of his head. “I’m not stinking up my life’s work with cotton candy flirting. This is a place of _business._ And if you and Piper work here then Jason’s gonna be in here all the time with his mooneyes and that’s too much for me. Anyway, Mitchell and I are holding it together. _”_

At that, Leo finally let out a loud sigh of displeasure, one that Nico had heard time and time again.

 _“All I wanna do is quit my shitty job at Best Buy.”_ Every trace of sweetness was now gone from Leo’s voice as he draped himself over the counter to complain. _“Please_ just let me work here where I can get away with doing the bare minimum order amount of work while working with my best friends and drinking my weight in free coffee.”

“As much as a convincing case that you present,” Nico snapped the damp dish towel at the other boy, “I’m gonna have to go with _no_ . And the coffee is _not_ free.”

Leo lifted his head and attempted a lazy glare at the other man, “Every time I have to fix a porn virus, or take apart yet another coffee ruined keyboard, I’m going to _curse_ your _soul._ ”

“Have fun with that,” Nico told him absentmindedly as he continued to take stock, “hey, refill the napkins, will you?”

“This is illegal,” Leo told him, even as he did so. “Forcing me, a poor suffering minority, to do your busy work for free. Unpaid wages are a serious crime, di Angelo.”

Nico paused what he was doing only to roll his eyes are far as he could and heave a large breath. “It’s not unpaid wages,” he started carefully, “if you’re getting gallons of free coffee in exchange. And don’t think I haven’t noticed the stolen muffins.”

“Piper likes the blueberry ones,” Leo shrugged, unconcerned.

“So do my _customers,”_ Nico sighed, and let the clipboard fall to the ground as he finished up the numbers. It was times like this when he almost -- almost -- wished he had more than just he and Mitchell to take care of the shop. Even with his sister’s occasional help, and Frank’s more-than-often swing-ins, it was getting a bit much.

But still -- not nearly enough to give into the other man’s wants.

“We don’t need any more employees,” Nico said, back to the topic.

Leo gave him a dull look as he pushed himself up on the counter to sit, despite Nico’s numerous complaints of his doing so. Before he could return with some sarcastic remark, the bell above the door announced new people.

Nico cut himself off before they got into another round of banter. “Whoops, gotta go, I’m oh-so-very dedicated to my customers, so sorry we have to cut this wonderful conversation off.”

Leo flipped him off but said nothing and pulled out his phone to busy himself until Nico was done. Nico turned to the waiting customers.

“Welcome to Bitter,” Nico greeted them monotone, leaning on the counter. “What can I get for you?”

It was a couple -- both young enough to be around his age, if not a bit older, who were taking in the shop with the curious look of new customers. The woman, short-haired and looking amused, stepped forward first.  

“I’ll have the ‘obnoxiously sweet crap in a cup,’ medium.” She told him, a smile playing on her lips. “Skim milk, please.”

Nico marked up the cup accordingly, only pausing for a moment. “Name?”

“Lou,” She flashed him a grin as he scribbled down the info, and moved to face her companion.

It wasn’t often he wished the lighting of the cafe was worse. It was already a few shades too dark but blond and tall seemed to contradict that fact by his mere attractive existence.

“Small ‘hazelnut foam shit’ please,” The blond grinned. “Nice names by the way.”

“Thanks,” Nico told him on instinct because almost everyone had some sort of comment of the like. Nico usually didn’t bother replying, but...

He forced his thoughts back on track. “Name?” He asked, silver pen hovering.

“Will.” He grinned like the simple conversation was making his day. Fuck.

Nico scribbled the name without another beat of hesitation. He rang them up, not allowing his eyes to linger. Leo, after all, was watching from his place on the counter and would never stop teasing him.

Nico made the drinks quickly -- the first, after all, was mostly just syrup and milk -- but lingered with the second one. And the couple was standing at the end of the counter and, as he watched, the girl seemed to be flipping absentmindedly through some kind of dating app. Every few swipes, the guy -- Will -- would lean down and mutter something that had her giggling.

So. Not a couple, then.

Not that he cared, of course. Especially with Leo’s eyes on his back.

Fuck. The rule, di Angelo, remember the rule.

He snapped the plastic cap on the cup before sliding it down to join the first. Will looked up as he did so, and their gazes met.

Fuck.

Nico didn’t think people had eyes like that in real life.

He forced himself to look away and stepped back as if there was a need with an entire counter separating them. They both picked up their cup, Lou still flipping through her phone and unnoticing what was going on around her. Leo, Nico at least hoped, would be the same.

“Dedicated to the aesthetic, huh?” Will told him with an amused curl of his lips as he picked up and examined the cup. Hazel had designed the logo, of course. It featured a small scattering of silver coffee beans on the black cardboard cup. Along the bottom, _BITTER_ was written out in matching color block letters.

Nico gave him a casual shrug, “It looks cool.”  

“It does,” he agreed, a bright smile in place. Nico forced himself to look away. Will cast a look around the shop. “Are you guys new? I haven’t seen this place before.”

“We opened a few months ago.” Nico grabbed a rag and began wiping off the counter, mostly to look busy.

“We’ll have to come back,” he shared a quick look with his friend. “I’ll see you around.”

Usually, Nico would have ignored the small talk ten times over, but he could help the quiet _see you around_ that slipped out to follow after the other man. Will quirked his lips up -- gods, his eyes were _so_ blue -- and left with his companion. Nico could _feel_ Leo’s waiting gaze on him.

“Don’t say anything.”

Leo’s face was already painted up in a perfect expression of delight. “You talked to someone,” Leo made a wild gesture with his hands. “A _cute_ someone.”

“Was he cute?” Nico asked. “I didn’t notice.”

“Yeah, okay,” Leo scoffed, “I could see how blue his eyes were from here. Even with how determined you are to drive away social interaction, you must have noticed.”

Nico definitely did notice but absolutely refused to let Leo be right.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice dismissive. “Now, back to our earlier conversation, I don’t need any more employees.”

His words -- a hopeful distraction -- hit exactly as Nico hoped and Leo jumped off the counter, ready to defend his point.

Now if Nico could only get blondie’s face out of his head -- and his almost promising words of a return visit.

* * *

“So,” Mitchell opened up with. Nico froze. “You’re making a new drink?”

Nico stayed still in place for a few careful moments before dropping his shoulders. “It’s nothing,” he said, his voice already defensive. “It’s, it’s just because it’s getting warm out.”

Mitchell hummed and leaned around him to peer down at the concoction. Nico didn’t bother hiding it. “It’s very...bright,” Mitchell commented, “is it juice?”

“It’s a blue raspberry lemonade,” he explained, frowning down at the liquid. It wasn’t the right shade of blue at all. “I can’t get it right.”

Mitchell poured himself a cup and tasted it. His eyes widened. “It’s very sweet but good.” He popped his lips, “perfect for the summer crowd.”

“It will be once I’ve gotten it right,” he muttered, glaring down at the pitcher.

Mitchell crushed the paper cup and threw it to the trash. “So. Does this new drink have anything to do with the cute blond Leo was telling me about?”

“No.”

Mitchell laughed at his abrupt answer. “Really?” He ran a hand through his hair, grinning. “Leo told me all about him. I’m still in disbelief that you, like, spoke to a customer outside of taking their orders. Your rudeness is practically part of the brand at this point.”

“He was just a customer,” Nico said, packing up the ingredients. “I hardly remember him.”

“So this new drink is just a coincidence?” There was a smile in his voice, “just like the purple smoothie ‘Art Major’ drink was a coincidence on Hazel’s birthday, and the spicy ‘Mechanic’ hot chocolate just happened to drop before Christmas?”

He had had Leo for Secret Santa. Nico said nothing for a long moment before finally admitting, “the same kind.”

“What’s the work-in-progress name for this one?” Mitchell asked, his voice innocent. “I won’t tell, promise.”

Mitchell _was_ good on his promises. Ugh, fuck it. “Beach blond,” Nico finally said, looking to the ceiling. “And you _better_ not tell anyone.”

Mitchell tilted his chin up, “I wasn’t going to tell.” Which probably meant he was only going to tell one person.

“Sure,” Nico snorted, “oh, look, speak of the literal devil -- your favorite customer.”

“I don’t have a favorite customer,” he said just to turn and completely light up. “Hey, Connor! Your usual?”

Connor went starry-eyed like this small question made his week. “You know my usual?”

“Of course,” Mitchell grinned, “it’d be ridiculous if I didn’t -- you’re here all the time.”

“You got the counter?” Mitchell nodded, still looking at Connor, who apparently had gone speechless. “I’m gonna do some paperwork in the cafe.”

Mitchell waved him off and Nico shook his head, almost in awe of his obliviousness.

Nico spread out his papers at one of the tables and got to work, mostly just covering the stuff he couldn’t forward to his accountant. It, he knew, would come soon enough -- only a measly fifteen minutes this time.

“Where’s Mitchell?” He asked without looking up.

“He’s looking for the last of the chocolate muffins,” There was desperation in his voice, so naked it was almost embarrassing. “di Angelo, I know we’ve had our differences, but -”

“No.”

Connor made a noise of pain. “But, please.”

“No,” Nico didn’t even look up from his paperwork. “Not a chance.”

“Please.”

“No.”

_“Please.”_

“Nope.”

“Please, please, _please -”_

“Jesus Christ,” Nico muttered, throwing down his pen. “Fine,” Nico heaved a large breath, only humoring the other man. “Have you ever worked in a coffee shop before?”

“Yes,” Connor agreed happily, sliding over a sheet of paper. “For three years!”

“Really,” Nico raised an eyebrow and looked over the resume. “Three years at...Coffee Place.”

“It’s a real place,” Connor reassured him. “Totally real. Um. It’s in New York.”

“I’m sure it is.” Nico was nearly a thousand percent sure it wasn’t. “What did you do there?”

“Made coffee,” he replied without any hesitation. He didn’t elaborate.

Nico sighed, “Just...why do you want to work here so bad?”

“I need to work here,” Connor insisted. “I just love...coffee.”

“The Starbucks two streets over is actively hiring,” Nico told him in a dull voice, “we’re not even taking applications.”

“I don’t care about Starbucks,” he breathed out, “this is where I need to work.”

“Not gonna explain why?” Nico asked, not even that interested in the answer.

“I’m just…” He trailed off and swallowed. “Very dedicated to the idea of working here.”  
Nico, giving him a long look, turned and called Mitchell from the back. Instantly, Connor scrambled up to a stance, his eyes wide.

Mitchell poked his head around the corner, “Yeah?”

At his side, Connor had gone frozen.

“Can you refill the ice water?” Nico asked nonchalantly, rolling his weight to his heels. “Before the lunch rush?”

Mitchell cocked his head to the side, obviously wondering about the request, but nonetheless gave him a crisp nod before disappearing into the back. He was probably going to emerge with a muffin soon enough -- Nico knew he almost always kept an extra one in the back for the other man.

 _We’re friends,_ Mitchell had said in a confused tone when Nico asked. Somewhere, Connor was most likely bursting into tears.

Nico turned back to Connor, an eyebrow raised. “We’re not hiring right now,” Nico told him, his own question so clearly answered by how Connor had gone frozen and glassy-eyed at the arrival of the other man. “Buy something or get out, Stoll.”

Connor blinked a few times, apparently returning from wherever he had ascended to in Mitchell’s presence. “Please,” he only repeated, completely desperate this time. “I’ll pay _you._ Please.”

Nico took a quiet sort of joy in his answer, “Nope,” he popped the word and gathered his papers but leaving Connor’s resume. At his leave, Mitchell was instantly coming up to replace Nico’s place with the water pitcher. Nico wondered if the other boy would ever come to his senses (although hopefully not in/around Nico’s shop) and half-heartedly wished he wouldn’t purely for the look of despair that was coming over Connor’s face at that moment.

He threw his paper in the office crammed in the back -- hardly used for anything more than storage at this point -- and grabbed a stool to sit at the counter. It was a bit too early for their afternoon post-school rush, but they usually had a few dependable in-and-out coffee goers. It wasn’t anything special -- especially with how preoccupied Connor kept Mitchell occupied, leaving Nico without anyone to talk to -- but a handful of lattes and iced drinks later, he was surprised to find a distraction.

“Good afternoon,” Will greeted him with a smile much too bright and sunny for Nico’s low-light shop. It was usually just dim enough to ruin any potential Instagram photos. That didn’t stop the foodie bloggers of course -- short of death, there was nothing stopping a frantic eyed hipster in a with an aesthetically pleasing coffee cup and a handful of photo apps and filters from posting to social media. But it was nice to annoy them, if anything.

Of course Will, in his faded t-shirt that advertised some non-profit and jeans ripped just enough to be stylish, looked nothing close to annoyed. Stupidly pretty, yes, but not annoyed. Nico would have to work harder then.

“One large iced vanilla cavity inducer, please,” Will happily read off the sign. “Extra whip on that, and a medium cold brew with almond milk.”

Nico raised an eyebrow as he punched it all into the register. “Are you looking for a sugar coma, or?”

He huffed out a breath. “It’s for my sister, actually. She’s got a big presentation tomorrow and I promised caffeinated support.”

Nico hummed in understanding. “College student?”

“Worse,” he grimaced, “She’s a nursing major.”

Nico winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah,” Will ran a hand through his already tousled curls. “After watching me stress through undergrad, I really thought she’d change her mind.”

Nico snorted. “Understandable. These are to-go?”

Will agreed and Nico tapped away at the screen before reading off the total.

“Giftcard,” Will said, holding out a thin piece of plastic. “Lou got it for me.”

Nico didn’t even know they sold giftcards. Mitchell must have started them.

He took the card, swiped it, and handed it back. Usually when patrons gave their orders, he’d turn his back to the counter while he made their drinks. That temptation didn’t come to him this time.

“So,” Nico began to make the drinks but made sure to look back to continue the conversation, “What do you do if you’re no longer an undergrad?”

Will sighed, “I’m...getting my PhD. Final year, cardiology track.”

“That’s...a lot,” Nico couldn’t help but be impressed. “That’s what, like, hearts and stuff?”

Will gave him a small teasing smile. “Yes. It’s like hearts and stuff. I’ve already finished regular med school, so I’m doing my residency and part-time school.”

“I take back my ‘that’s a lot’ from earlier and use it here,” Nico shook his head almost in disbelief, “I’d die if I did all that.”

“Luckily there are doctors around to help you.” Nico snapped on the drink lid as he finished them up and handed them over. As he did, their hands brushed together. He wanted to curse himself for the way his heart skipped a beat, but from the shy look that came over Will’s face afterward, he wasn’t the only one feeling somewhat like this.

Nico filed that fact away for later -- much, much later -- and leaned his hip against the counter.

Will picked up the cup and shot him a slightly regretful look. “I should get this back to my sister. If I’m not back soon, she’ll probably start blasting my phone wondering what’s keeping her from her caffeine.”

Nico let out a small laugh. “It is quite a dire situation, a coffee fix such as that.”

“Obviously,” Will said dryly, “it’s basically life or death to her. And to you, I imagine.”

“I do take caffeine very seriously.” He agreed and gestured to the store as a whole, “you can almost say I’ve devoted my life to it.”

“Well, I thank the gods for that fact today.” He lifted one of the cups in a goodbye, “I’ll see you later, Nico.”

Nico nodded and watched him leave, a tiny hopeful part in him desperately wishing that statement to be true.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Kno-_

“Go away,” Nico groaned out, only burying his face deeper into the sheets. “I’m _sleeping.”_

And of course with those words, because Nico’s life was a never-ending hellscape, the door didn’t hesitate to click open and shut again after a few moments.

“Oh, nice,” a heavy weight fell down on the bed next to him, and a pair of arms curled around his shoulders even as he weakly, half-heartedly batted them away.

“Your shoes -” He protested.

“Off by the door,” Leo answered for him, already knowing, as he shoved his face into the crook of Nico’s neck. “Hmm, warmth is so nice. Piper insists on an icy tundra in our apartment.”

“So put on a sweater and go back there,” Nico threw back, shoving the other man back from his neck. “I’m sleeping. What are you doing here? The door was locked.”

Leo scoffed. _“Puh-lease,_ your cheap ass lock is practically an invitation at this point.”

He...wasn’t wrong. It was occasionally nice to come home and see the other man had broken in, and Jason cooking at his stove while Piper destroyed whatever high score he’d managed on his current video game.

Nico, in no universe ever, would ever admit to that though.

“But _why_ are you here?” He tried again, tugging the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

Leo responded to the gesture by getting under the blankets himself, which only annoyed Nico further. “Piper and Jason went to get take-out,” Leo finally explained, “and I got lonely.”

“Go be lonely in your own apartment,” Nico muttered without much, or any, heat behind it. “Why didn’t you just go with them?”

“I didn’t want to put on pants.”

There was a moment of pause, “Please tell me -”

“Nope,” There was a grin in the other man’s voice, “But you already knew that.”

Nico sighed and didn’t deny it. He was lucky Leo remembered boxers most of the time. Leo hummed, amused, and opened up his arms, waiting.

Nico considered him through squinted eyes. Finally, he broke and scooted over so he could curl slightly into the other man. Leo ran warm, okay? He was like a damn furnace, and Nico might as well benefit from the breaking and entering.

Leo, without a beat of hesitation, wrapped his arm around Nico’s shoulders to pull him even closer. Nico, still lax from sleep and honestly enjoying the soft warmth, allowed the action.

“This is familiar, huh?” Leo’s voice was much too smug.

“We’re not making out,” Nico muttered against the other man’s skin, “it’s not gay if we just sleep.”

“Everything and every action about me is gay,” Leo said because of course. Before Nico could come out with some cool and witty response, the doorknob jiggled and both of them fell silent.

The door swung open with not even a knock to accompany. Standing against the light streaming in from the hall, Piper and Jason grinned arm-in-arm.

“No,” Nico groaned out, his hand coming down to grope for something, for anything. After a few stumbling moments, he threw his weapon -- his last defense against the invaders -- and watched the small throw pillow bounce right off Jason’s shoulder. Without another moment of hesitation, they flipped on the lights and welcomed themselves in.

“We got Leo’s text,” Piper told him, unimpressed as she set down the bags. Jason, happy at her side, began unloading the plastic tubs.

“You texted them?” Nico shot him a betrayed look. “When?”

Leo’s hand, clenching his phone, disappeared under the blankets. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“We got you your noodles,” Jason smiled warmly, looking pleased with the sight of them all in Nico’s apartment.

Nico squinted at him suspiciously and sat up, Leo giving a pathetic whine as he was pushed away. “With?”

“Steak, of course.” Jason pushed the plastic tub into his hands and a bottled water followed. “And mixed veggies.”

Nico took the food and examined it carefully before nodding. “You can stay.”

“Glad we have your approval,” Piper threw herself on the bed on Nico’s other side. She cracked open her white takeout box and elbowed him out of the way. “Move over.”

“This is _my_ bed,” Nico complained but shifted closer to Leo’s side of the bed nonetheless. “Don’t you guys wanna eat at a table? Such as the one in your own apartment?”

“This is more comfortable,” Jason said as he spread out across the foot of the bed, his own takeout box balanced on his chest. “What are we watching?”

Leo fumbled to grab the remote controller from Nico’s bedside table and flipped on the TV, a considering look on his face. “Show or movie?”

“Show,” Piper and Jason answered together, almost completely drowning out Nico’s grumpy “neither.”

 _“Brooklyn 99_ it is,” Leo clicked through the screen for a few moments before turning on a random episode. They were three times over caught up, so a random episode was probably best.

Leo’s chopsticks were in and out of Nico’s takeout box before he even realized. He made a sound of joy as he stuffed in a stray strip of steak into his mouth.

“Jason -”

“Leave Nico’s food alone,” Jason said without taking his eyes off the screen, despite it still being the intro.

Leo stuck his tongue out at Nico, causing Piper to reach over and slap the back of his head.

“Hey!” Leo exclaimed, “Jason, Piper hit me!”

Jason sighed and stood up, only to round the bed and insert himself behind Leo, sitting behind him in a spooning-like manner. “Will you behave now?”

Leo took to the new position with the joy and gusto of which he took to a new packet of firestarters. “Me? Never. But I will enjoy cuddling with my real-life Ken doll and remain mostly harmless.”

“Mostly,” Nico repeated, a warning in her voice. “Be careful, he’s got nails.”

“Oh, Jason knows Leo’s got nails,” Piper said nonchalantly, “he’s very, very aware -”

“Okay,” Nico said, grabbing the remote and turning it up at least a few dozen bars, “that conversation is over.”

The episodes were entertaining, at least, and they managed to finish dinner without too many more inappropriate interruptions. Towards the end of their fourth episode, the three of them began to stand and stretch, gathering their trash.

“I’m gonna go get laid,” Leo said, grabbing Jason’s hand who, in turn, grabbed Piper’s. “Wanna come?”

“Stop inviting me,” Nico muttered into his pillow, “I hate you all.”

“Love you!” Leo only replied, Jason saying the same. Piper, who at least still had her sanity, only laughed as they all filed out. Thank god their walls were thick.

The dinner had warmed him in a way his heater or thick duvet could never, and his stomach was full of one of his favorite foods, and he felt content in a way he only really found after a quiet night with close friends.

But now, they were gone and that didn’t chill him as much as it used to, being alone. Now, he could just let his warm chest and full stomach speak for themselves, and he could sleep.

* * *

Mitchell opened that morning, which gave Nico a nice, rare extra hour of sleeping in. However, it also meant walking in on a disaster in the making.

“- and there’s this really good movie theater over downtown, with recliners and gourmet food and stuff, and they’re playing some 90s classics this weekend -”

“I love 90s classics!” Mitchell smiled. “Any rom-coms?”

“So many rom-coms,” Connor breathed out, an adoring look in his eyes. “Sleepless in Seattle, Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding and a few more!”

“That’s awesome,” Mitchell beamed, “my sisters have been bugging me to hang out, that sounds perfect for them!”

Nico snorted as Connor’s face fell dramatically as Mitchell turned his back, still humming under his breath happily.

“You always suggest the best things,” Mitchell continued, setting up the dessert display. “My sisters are seriously thankful. We were getting bored with just hanging out at the mall. I can only go to Sephora so many times with a bunch of squealing girls.” As he straightened up, he caught sight of him. “Good morning, Nico!”

“It’s too early for it to be good,” He said as he did every day. Mitchell rolled his eyes.

“Your coffee is on the counter,” he replied like he did every morning. It was their routine at this point. Mitchell smiled at Connor. “Connor was just recommending this new movie theater -- they’re doing a whole month of classics.”

“I’m sure he was,” Nico said, eyes narrowed at Connor.

“Hazel might like it,” Mitchell was completely oblivious to the stare-down Nico was giving Connor. “Or Jason.”

Nico hummed, pulling his gaze away from Connor’s pleading eyes. “Remember the rule.”

Mitchell sighed largely. “Nico -”

“No dating the customers,” Nico said, his eyes more on Connor than Mitchell, “We agreed.”

Mitchell rolled his eyes, “I don’t need to be reminded of that so much, you know.” He replied, even as Connor’s face dropped comically. Mitchell’s expression took on a smirk, “Or are you just reminding yourself?”

“You’re fired,” Nico’s cheeks burned a bright red, “effective immediately.”

Mitchell laughed loudly and Connor, who had been handed a bagel only a few moments previously, dropped his plate straight onto the tile. Nico sighed and handed over the broom and dustpan to Mitchell’s waiting hand.

“Again?” Mitchell gave him a teasing look. “Maybe we should start giving you the plastic plates we give to the kids.”

Connor nodded helplessly and stared down at the broken plate as Mitchell cleaned it up quickly, smiling fondly at the other man.

“You’re pathetic,” Nico told him casually when Mitchell disappeared into the back to throw the glass shards away. “Like, you’re aware of that, right?”

“I know,” Connor said, now clenching his to his chest. “Can I have a job?”

Nico gave him an unamused look, “We both know the answer to that. You’re paying for that plate.”

“I’d pay for all your plates if you gave me a job,” Connor near-begged just as Mitchell returned, a new bagel in place on a bright plastic dish.

“On the house,” Mitchell grinned as he handed it over. Connor went starry-eyed as he took it but miraculously didn’t lose his grip.

“I didn’t say you could do that,” Nico said mildly. “Do you always give out free food?”

“Take it out of my pay,” Mitchell said dismissively, turning back to Connor. “Now what were you saying before doom and gloom got here? The movie theater?”

Nico sighed and shook his head, purely to Mitchell’s obliviousness to his own feelings and Connor.

The day went on as normal, their regular in-and-out, a few students taking up the tables like they always did. Connor eventually, thankfully, left much to his own dismay. As he walked out, he tossed out a simple, “Job?” to Nico -- as if that was the time Nico would finally give in and add him to the payroll -- to which Nico just flipped him off without looking up. If Nico and Mitchell had their coffee routine, this was Nico and Connor’s.

However, late in the day when Mitchell was off taking a break to grab their takeout dinner, Nico was surprised to round the corner of the cafe, fully prepared to wipe down some tables and refill empty cups, when one particular huddled figure caught his eye.

Nico gave him a critical look as he approached.

“Will…” He trailed off, going a bit wide-eyed at the man’s appearance and his current surroundings, “What...are you doing?”

When Will looked up at him, his eyes were wide, red, and full of lost hope. “My thesis,” he told him, and his voice was empty of everything except hollow, hoarse sound. “It’s due at the end of the month.”

The entire table was covered in papers, folders, and open textbooks. As Will reached up and ran a hand through his equally messy curls, Nico could see his ink-covered and highlighter stained fingers.

“Okay,” Nico said carefully, almost like when talking to an easily scared off forest animal. Or, Hazel when she was crying. What? He had very limited uses for his gentle voice. “How...how is that going?”

Will blinked at him then looked down at his mess of papers. His face was completely blank. “I...don’t know.”

“Okay,” Nico tried to get a feel for how off the other man was. He wasn’t nearly at the maximum level -- in other words, Annabeth the day before her dissertation presentation -- but up there. Maybe at a Leo during capstone season?

Honestly, now that Nico was comparing the two, add a few handfuls of motor oil, an assortment of random dirty tools (a potato peeler? A broken pogo stick? really??), and an open bag of lime Takis and their states would be nearly indistinguishable.

“Okay,” Nico repeated, pulling his thoughts together. He stepped back to the counter, Will hardly noticing from his complete immersion in the material, and returned after only a few moments. This time, Will looked up at his arrival.

“I don’t think you need any more caffeine,” Nico told him, an odd statement considering his own several cups of downed energy at any given moment. “Have some cider, on the house.”

Will peered down into the steaming cup before slowly nodding. He breathed into the scent and seemed to come back to himself just slightly.

“And eat,” Nico nodded to the plated muffin he set down. “Seriously.”

Will let out a breath. “Thank you,” he said, his voice a bit stronger, a bit more full, as he did as Nico said. “I...needed this.”

“A break?” Nico took the open seat across from him and avoided touching the stacks of papers -- he had long since learned never to mess with the intellectual mess. “Yeah, that was obvious from across the shop.” Nico placed his chin on his balled-up fist. “So what stage of thesis mental breakdown are you in?”

Will winced at the words -- or maybe it was from the heat of the cider he was cautiously sipping at -- and took a few moments to answer. “Hopefully the last stages,” he grimaced, “although, I haven’t even put it through a proof-reader yet. It’s just all --” He gestured towards his head, “jumbled up.”

Nico hummed. He was familiar -- second-hand so -- with the thought.

When Leo needed to talk through the finer details of whatever project he was working on, he used to barge into Nico’s apartment, drag him into the neighboring unit, and fall back to his workspace already speaking. Towards the end of the semester, it usually became a thing -- Nico would play his DS on the bed while Leo rambled through his blueprints and machine parts and Nico listened on with a half-ear.

“I’m just tired,” Will leaned forward, holding his head as he rubbed his palms into his eyes. “I’m so close I can _taste_ the diploma.”

“Taste?” Nico wrinkled his nose, “What the hell are you doing with your diplomas?”

That, at least, managed to pull Will out of the worst of it. He lifted his head and gave Nico a dull look. “You’re not funny.”

“Never claimed to be,” he shot a cursory look towards the front counter -- he _was_ on the clock, after all -- and Mitchell shot him a quick thumbs up.

“So,” Nico said, popping the word, “your mental thesis tornado. Is this something better solved by ignoring it completely or by talking it through?”

Will gave him a surprised look. “You wanna hear about my thesis?”

“I simply asked which would help you more,” Nico said, not meeting the other man’s bright eyes. “Do with that what you will.”

Will’s lips spread out into a weak smile. He looked down to his papers, “Well,” he started off with, “in general, I’m writing the first part about the history of heart surgery. Like, the first doctor who did like, the major milestones. The first heart surgery was done by Cappelen -- which is a big deal -- but not as much of a big deal as when the first open-heart surgery was done by this guy Doctor Daniel Hale Williams. Basically, I’m analyzing his procedure to explain what went right and what went wrong,” Will shrugged. “Just kind of a basic history report so my reader has the background. The second part is going through the current transplant process and is honestly the weakest part of the paper, and the third part is going through the research of hearts via other sources -- 3D printing, other organic hearts, cloned hearts -- and arguing which I think the future of transplants lies. You kind of get it?”

Nico had done his absolute part to pay attention and take in everything. He nodded, somewhat understanding.

“Okay,” Nico said slowly, “so it’s very smart and all. What’s making you freak out?”

“And - ugh - it’s just all kind of a mess right now.” Will huffed and looked more frustrated than he had when Nico arrived, which totally wasn’t the goal. “I keep writing and rewriting my words and my research feels awkwardly thrown in and, again, my second part feels weak and like I’m copy and pasting some dictionary definition. It doesn’t feel original or innovative at all.”

Nico stared at him with a careful eye. “This isn’t helping,” he said, watching the anxiety spread across Will’s face. “Talking about it, I mean.”

Will swallowed and slumped down. “No. No, I don’t think it is.”

“I think you may need some time away from the work.” If Nico was a braver man, he would have tried to maybe slide away some of Will’s books. As it was, Nico only gestured to the mess. “Your mind just needs to like, breathe.”

“Yeah,” Will ran a hand through his messy hair, still looking overwhelmed. “Yeah.”

Nico gave him another long moment before sighing and pulling up the nearest chair, sitting in it backward and giving Will an expectant look.

Will blinked at him. “Uh, yes?”

Nico nodded to the muffin. “Eat. I’m not leaving till you do.”

Will gave him a surprised look. Slowly, the corners of his mouth began to twitch upwards. “Are you being serious?”

Nico’s gaze was dull. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Will huffed out a breath and picked up the baked good. He gave it an examining look over before flickering his amused face back to Nico. “You’ll leave if I finish it?”

“Yes.”

Will was nearly full-on grinning at him now, a contrast from the drained and exhausted lines on his face earlier. “What if I don’t want you to leave?”

Nico…had no idea what to say. Gods, was he breathless? It sure felt like it. He thought that was only a thing in terrible romance novels or Jane Austen books where the protagonist was eternally breathless and swooning. He didn’t think it happened in _real_ life.

Oh gods. No. He couldn’t let his life become a romance novel. Or, gods, a badly written coffee shop AU. He _refused,_ He had _morals._ He swore to himself, the day they opened the doors, that he could not let his life play out like some Hallmark movie just because the setting was perfect. No matter his interest in Will -- and Will’s stupid blue eyes, staring at him in teasing mischief -- he wouldn’t betray himself.

He stood abruptly, his eyes probably wide and crazed, “Um. There’re dirty dishes.” Nico paused, “I’m going to go and clean them now.”

Will looked slightly confused but mostly amused. He pulled the muffin closer and pulled off a bit to pop in his mouth. “You do that.” His voice went soft, “Thanks for looking out for me. And for the food.”

Nico almost jogged back to the kitchen, his heart pounding for no reason to do with his light cardio. “Fuck.” He said out loud to the empty kitchen.

* * *

“So,” Mitchell pressed a pattern of buttons on the milk steamer as he spoke, “our new frequent customer.”

Nico paused. “Do we have one?” He said, his voice nonchalant. “Is it that new mom who’s always in at 6 A.M.?”

There was an eyeroll in Mitchell’s voice when he spoke. “Pamela has been coming for weeks now and you know that.” The steamer clicked off and he put the metal cup aside to wipe down the machine, still talking over his shoulder to Nico. “I’m just saying, he’s kind of cute.”

“We don’t date customers,” Nico said, almost a reminder. After all, despite how oblivious Mitchell remained, Connor’s visits were almost twice daily now. They’d probably be able to open a separate franchise on his transactions alone.

Mitchell rolled his eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, Nico.”

Nico shot him a strange look but turned back to their growing crowd. They didn’t usually have this many customers, especially at this time.

“Crap, I totally forgot. Connor said there was some fancy food festival this weekend down the block,” Mitchell groaned. “I was wondering why he mentioned that. He was probably trying to warn us about the crowd.”

“How sweet,” Nico replied dryly. That most definitely hadn’t been Connor’s intention. He turned back to the counter, sharing a tired look with Mitchell, and got to it.

Forty-five minutes later and they still weren’t looking any better crowd-wise -- probably worse, honestly, with the line now out the door. Fuck. He and Mitchell had switched register and drinks a few times, but it was getting too much to handle. Maybe he’d just close the door and tell everyone they ran out of coffee. That’s believable, right?

Mitchell was just starting to shoot him a look that was probably along his own thoughts when, suddenly, a hip was bumping him out of the way to reach for the gloves under the counter.

“I came in through the back,” Hazel easily explained, donning the plastic over her hands. “I saw the line from the street.”

“Thank you,” Nico said, graciousness spilling the words easily from his lips. “Thank you, thank you, _thank you.”_

Hazel donned an apron off a nearby hook and rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky my class got canceled today.”

“So lucky,” Nico breathed out, nearly in awe at the sight of her.

Hazel began whipping up iced coffees with brutal efficiency. “When are you going to hire more employees?”

“It’s only this busy because of some hipster food festival down the street,” Nico sighed and allowed himself a moment to rub at his eyes, “Why do they think they’re too good for Starbucks?”

“Starbucks is good,” Hazel said mildly, filling up a cup with ice.

Nico spun on her, betrayal clear on his face. “Starbucks is completely overrated and way too expensive, their pastry selection is pathetic and it’s coffee is just bitter sludge, there’s no rich taste -” Hazel was watching him with an unimpressed look on her face. Nico cut himself off and looked to the ground, almost ashamed. “I see.”  

Hazel pressed her lips together to stop a laugh from slipping out and knocked their hips together as she rushed past, already dropping off a few prepared drinks at the pick-up counter. She was a god sent.

Nico, at the register, managed to get through another batch of customers with both Hazel and Mitchell working at the various and multiple drink orders. Half an hour later, the rush was just beginning to slow down. They still had a line, but at least it wasn’t out the door anymore. Just as he was going to offer to switch with Mitchell, the next customer stepped forward and he paused in his words.

“Oh,” Nico blinked at the other man in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you.” Fuck. He shouldn’t have said that, even if Will’s grin did get slightly bigger in response. Nico shook the thought out of his head and spoke before Will could respond. “What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have a small strawberry lemonade,” Lou, who Nico hadn’t even noticed, spoke up from his side with a wide grin. Nico tried to keep his surprised look down as scribbled the order down. He looked to Will expectedly.

“Medium pomegranate green tea, please.”

Nico paused mid-reach, “Hot or cold?”

“Cold,” Will answered, “I’m a bit too hot today for anything warm.”

Nico suppressed a large sigh and reached for the proper cup. “Any sugar?”

“He’s sweet enough already,” Lou answered for them, a wide grin in place as she held out her debit card.

Will shot her a fond look. “No sugar. Thank you.”

Nico took the card, swiped it, and handed over the receipt for her to sign. She did so and left Will lingering at the counter.

Nico took the receipt and took a few moments to carefully fold it up and put it with the others before looking to Will, who was still at the counter, waiting for something.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” he repeated, “I, uh, thought you’d be busy. With your thesis.”

“Lou Ellen dragged me out of the apartment for the festival,” Will smiled as he tilted his head in her direction at the counter. “I was just research spiraling at that point. It was for the best.”

Nico quirked a slight smile back at him. “Find anything good?”

“Nothing as good as my favorite coffee place.” He answered smoothly, “But I did find a cool bubble tea place. Do you like that kind of stuff?”

“Uh,” Hazel’s eyes were a near presence on his back, “I’ve had it a few times. It’s good.”

Will hummed, something amused on his face. “You should go some time. It’s kind of out of the way though, I’d probably have to show you.”

“I-” Nico swallowed, “It’s okay. I’m pretty good with directions.”

“Okay,” Will answered equally as easily. “Another time.” He held up the cup, “See you around?”

They were definitely holding up the line at this point. “Yeah. Um. See you around. Probably here.”

“Probably here,” Will agreed with a grin. He turned back to Lou, who was waiting and watching them both with a raised eyebrow, and then they were gone.

The next customer gave him a knowing grin as they approached. “Are you gonna badly flirt with me too?”  

Fuck it. The line was as short as its been in an hour. “Mitchell, take the register.” He turned into the back, content to disappear while the red in his cheeks faded. They needed some mugs washed anyway.  

But. The mugs. They were outside. In the cafe area.

This was a horrible idea. It totally looked like Nico was going to like, stalk them while they were enjoying the drinks and AC.

“Nico,” Hazel yelled from the front, “we need more dishes, can you do a round?”

 _Thank the gods for Hazel Levesque_ , he thought as he stepped out into the front and immediately backtracked on that thought as Hazel approached where Will was waiting, a large grin in place.

“Your tea,” she said, grinning brilliantly at Will. “Is this your first time here?”

Will looked briefly surprised at Hazel’s wide grin before returning it. “I’ve been a few times.”  He peeked over to Nico with an almost shy look as he took the iced drink from Hazel. “I haven’t seen you here though. Hazel, is it?”

“It is,” Hazel looked absolutely delighted even though that is literally the only use for the nametag clipped to her apron, “but I don’t work here, this is just a side-effect of being sister to the owner.”

Will lit up. “Sister?” He looked back at Nico. “You didn’t say you had a sister!”

“He’s embarrassed of me,” Hazel said, looking so morose it was almost believable. Nico couldn’t help his scoff.

“You’re the one embarrassing yourself,” he tried to gently push her away from the counter but she remained in her place, only raising her eyebrows.

“Really? We’re gonna talk embarrassing yourself? What about in eighth grade when you-”

“Oh, look, your soulmate is here,” Nico began pushing Hazel away, never before so glad to see Leo behind the counter. Hazel was instantly distracted, of course, and almost knocked over a tower of paper to-go cups in her haste to jump into Leo’s waiting, open arms. Good. They would distract each other.

Wait. Fuck.

Leo was here. Will was here. Fuck.

“Oh, hello,” Leo gave Will a wide, knowing grin as he approached, now with Hazel happily tucked under his arm. “You must be Will. Wow -- di Angelo, you were totally right about those eyes.”

Nico automatically took Leo’s arms as soon as he was in reaching distance. “Nope,” he popped the end of the word as Leo stumbled forward with Nico’s pull. “You’re not allowed to interact with the paying customers.”

“Oh, and he’s a customer? But Nico, your rule ~”

Hazel, thankfully, stayed behind to man the counter as Nico dragged the other man back into the kitchens, hopefully where Leo’s murder could be artfully enough hidden. Hazel probably wouldn’t help him clean up, and Mitchell was too driven by ‘morals’ or whatever, and Jason definitely wouldn’t, but perhaps Piper. He had enough blackmail on her anyway.

He pushed Leo back into the rarely used back office, causing the other man to raise an eyebrow and tug at his own collar at their sudden privacy.

“Oh, are we doing this? Whatever, I’m down, just let me -”

Nico stopped Leo’s hands from tugging off his clothes. “I hate you,” Nico said through clenched teeth, “ _We’re not_ \- ugh!” Nico rubbed at his face. “I was just trying to get you to stop talking to Will. Aren’t you dating Jason?”

Leo, thankfully, dropped his hands to his sides and leaned against the desk shoved against the wall. It put a bit more distance between them but not much -- the office was the size of a modest closet. “It’s fine if it’s you,” Leo rolled his eyes like it was ridiculous Nico didn’t know that. “Jason doesn’t care. Anyway,” A teasing look came over his face, “Will, is it? He’s cute. Doesn’t look your type, but cute.”

“I don’t _have_ a type,” Nico crossed his arms.

“Sure you do,” Leo grinned, leaning back so far on the desk he was almost laying on it. “Dark hair, stupidly handsome, incredibly smart and hilarious.” He clicked his tongue, “That just might be me, though.”

“I’ll buy Hazel a turtle,” Nico was muttering, “to replace you after you’ve been murdered. She won’t even notice.”

“Hey, I’m like, ten percent better than a turtle.”

Before Nico could dispute that fact, which he most definitely would, the door opened and Hazel stood in the doorway.

She looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow, unimpressed. She gestured to the little space between them, and Leo’s sprawl across the desk. “Really? _Here?”_

 _“We’re not sleeping together,”_ Nico hissed, his cheeks bright red.

“Anymore,” Leo added loudly and completely unnecessarily. Thankfully, other than a light laugh, Hazel didn’t engage. Nico let out a breath of relief.

“Will and his friend left,” she said, leaning against the doorway. “We talked for a bit.”

Well, it was better her than Leo. “Oh?”

“He asked about your rule,” Hazel said conversationally, “he thought it was funny. He’s got a good laugh.”

“Mitchell told me Nico’s working on a new drink,” Leo told her eagerly, “some kind of blue raspberry lemonade. I think he’s trying to get Will’s eye color, he keeps throwing out batches even though they taste great.”

Hazel automatically gave him a delighted look. “You haven’t added to the menu for months!”

“Which means it’s due for an update,” Nico said, glaring at Leo. “It’s _nothing._ It’s just for the summer crowd. _”_

He went back into the kitchen and, to his eternal annoyance, Leo followed.

“I want to try this new drink,” she said, a tease in her voice. “When will it be ready?”

Nico sighed, “Next week, probably.” Just in time for Will’s thesis. Nico was half hoping the other man would come in afterward, just so Nico could force him into taste-testing. 

“Perfect,” Hazel grinned, “Hades and Persephone will be overjoyed.”

Nico paused and then groaned loudly. Hazel was already shaking her head.

“I don’t know how you forget all the time,” she ruffled his hair fondly. “it shouldn’t be a surprise.”

“Jason has a countdown every month on his phone,” Leo said, “it shoots off little fireworks the day of.”

“He has no business being that excited for a family dinner,” Nico muttered then looked to his sister. “I’m assuming it’s my turn to host?”

“You assume correctly,” Hazel told him, “and no, Frank and I aren’t hosting again. We can barely fit us all in the dining room at this point.”

“Stop finding strays then,” Nico complained, “it was so much simpler with just us.”

Hazel gave him a look at that but said nothing. Even Nico knew he was wrong with that, not that he’d ever admit it.

Leo, who had climbed onto the counter to sit because _of course,_ snorted. “Like your life would be easier without my radiant presence. Who else would fix your equipment?”

“I’d hire someone,” Nico grumbled without much heat. “Maybe I’ll do that from now on.”

Leo went offended -- of course, if he was going to get offended at anything Nico said, it would be the implication Nico would let someone else mess with his machinery -- but didn’t have the chance to spout out whatever dramatic monologue he was cooking up.

“This is a beautiful family reunion and all,” Mitchell rushed into the back to shove a tub of dirty dishware into Nico’s arms and turn back to the front, “but we still have a line and I’m _dying.”_

“On it,” Leo jumped up, Hazel’s hand now in his, and they both joined Mitchell in the front. Nico sighed and dumped the tub on the counter.

Might as well get to cleaning. Those Goodwill mugs wouldn’t wash out themselves.

* * *

“Most CEOs have their assistants fetch their coffee, you know.” Nico commented, “I’m sure Drew wouldn’t mind, considering you’re already vastly underworking her for the outrageous salary you provide.”

Hades took his steaming latte with a pleased grin and breathed it in. “I like my morning routine. It keeps me humble.”

“It keeps you well-fed,” Nico mumbled, just as he was bagging up Hades’ usual to-go.

As he did so, Hades help up his cup to examine the doodle on the side -- done every morning by Nico himself in silver marker. This morning, it was a small dragon laying waste to a field of stick people, each with a tiny expression of terror. Hades chuckled, and like always, took a quick photo of it to send to Persephone. He loved those stupid doodles.

If Nico happened not to be opening that day, he’d have to do it before he left for the night and leave the cup for Mitchell to fill. The first time he skipped out on the tradition, he woke up to a series of five a.m. texts from his father despairing about how Nico didn’t love him anymore.

So. Violent doodles.

“Very creative,” His father commented, tilting up the cup to see it better. “I especially like the shading of the blood trailing into the grass.”

“Thanks, I try.” Nico passed over the paper bag -- a toasted multigrain bagel wrapped with paper with a thin coating of non-fat cream cheese carefully placed at the top, an onion one with vegetable spread sitting at the bottom. “And don’t ‘forget’ to give Jules-Albert his bagel too. I don’t need any more passive-aggressive emojis in my inbox.”

“That, my son, is completely on you.” Hades took the bag and tucked it into his elbow as he gathered his things. “You’re the one who insisted he learn those little funny pictures.”

“I literally just said the name,” Nico said, tired. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what emojis are. You use them at least five dozen times a day.”

“Sorry, your aging father knows nothing of the kid’s lingo,” Hades said over his shoulder, “order some more of those almond croissants for next week, will you?”

“Never!” Nico yelled after him, even though he’d already doubled the order. Hades was determined to eat him out of a dessert display at this point. Well, Nico couldn’t complain that much, considering his father’s name on the lease.

He had an hour or so until Mitchell would show up for the morning rush, time he made useful by prepping the various iced teas and machines. They’d received a delivery from their usually bakery that previous afternoon and he set out the various baked goods and snacks around the counter area. A few early morning customers filtered in and out, all to-go orders with cardboard cups cradled in their tired hands, but it wasn’t anything Nico couldn’t handle.

Soon enough, Mitchell appeared, dead-eyed on arrival, and wordlessly took the cup Nico had prepared for him moments before and sat at the counter for a few minutes while he sipped it, slowly becoming more of a person. After waking up a bit more, and their morning rush started in earnest, they got to work.

Nico liked working with Mitchell. He was honest and straightforward and their working personalities meshed well together, even when they were each one more messed-up drink away from throwing iced drinks in the other’s face. That, at least, hadn’t happened since the beginning (and not yet entirely on purpose).

Hazel, who only had a morning class on Fridays, showed up halfway throughout the afternoon to snag a bagel and apron. Mitchell took his break -- thankfully not wasted on a Stoll brother -- and left the two of them behind the counter.

“How was class?” He asked, taking the cup from her to begin preparing their latest order -- some cold smores drink that was basically ice cream, but always drove their chocolate syrup into short supply.

“Good. Kind of boring,” she smiled at another patron as she took their order and tapped away at the digital register screen. “I’m just waiting for us to get to the actual projects instead of learning like, every bit of history leading up to the art in the first place.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually excited to do homework,” he teased, “what a nerd.”

She rolled her eyes, “Are we not gonna mention the Frankenstein paper Hades still has framed in his office? Didn’t you write it, like, before the class even began?”

“I found the title of the course to be controversial,” he defended, “it was important that the professor was aware of his misunderstanding.”

“It wasn’t even for a grade,” Hazel told the customer at the counter, who was listening in with an amused smile. “He calls me a nerd but I’ve never written a paper for fun. You know what’s fun? Art.” The customer nodded along in agreement. “So it makes sense for me to be excited for the projects rather than the lectures.”

“Stop turning my customers against me,” he said, his voice an almost-whine. He set the mug on the counter and turned to his sister as their listener wandered away.

“Okay,” Hazel agreed much too easily, instantly making him suspicious. There was at least ten more minutes of banter required for him to not feel on edge. A twinkle appeared in her eye. “So can we talk about customers who have definitely taken a liking to you?”

“I hate you,” he said, turning his back to work on the next drink. How comforting it was. Espresso, steamed milk, and some foam with hazelnut on top. How nice.

“How’s the blue lemonade going?” She asked sweetly.

Nico pointed to the chalkboard chart above them without turning, Mitchell’s handwriting on display. “It’s already been added. It’s quite popular, feel free to buy one.”

It was stupidly popular at this point. Nico was almost annoyed -- every time someone bought it and he was confronted with that perfectly mixed blue, his hour was entirely thrown off and consumed by tedious thoughts.

She went quiet. Nico finished off the cup, placed it on the counter, and faced her slowly.

Where she was already grinning around a straw.

“This is really good,” She smiled widely. The blue jug of premade stuff was next to her, presumably where she’d brought it up from the smaller fridge under the counter. “Such a pretty shade of blue.”

“If I say I hate you again, will you believe me?” He stashed away the jug again. He remembered Mitchell’s smug look on his face when he shoved the experimental drink towards him. Thankfully, Mitchell hadn’t commented on any obvious factors, but had liked the drink enough to insist on adding it to the board.

“I know you like -” She cut herself off oddly before saying, “Will!”

Nico sighed, “Hazel -”

“No,” she pushed him forward, _“Will.”_

She shoved him so he was facing the door, just in time to watch Will walk through the doors. He looked... _rough._

His eyes were slightly red -- a contrast against the blue to end all blues -- and his usual almost-preppy, edging on hipster clothes were replaced by a rumpled, stained oversized t-shirt and worn jeans. He looked like he probably slept in them. On the train. On the red line.

It was almost insulting that Nico still found this kind of cute. Like, standards -- what is that?

Nico would swear there were Cheetos stains on his jeans. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t stop the glow in his chest the slightest.

Hazel was the first to speak. “Are you okay, Will?”

And of course, in Hazel’s soft and concerned voice, it was an okay thing to ask. With how most of Nico’s interactions went, it probably would have come out as an insult.

“I’m writing a thesis and balancing classes and clinicals,” Will rubbed at his face. “I’m one more blood test away from exploding. It’s…a lot.”

Hazel, who had been there when Frank was doing the exact same thing, knew exactly what he was talking about. “Hold on one second.” She basically sprinted away, leaving them alone.

“How’s your thesis going?” Nico asked.

Will ran a hand over his face but at least looked a bit more awake and coherent. “It’s...going. Somewhere. I hope.”

Nico winced, “Did you turn it in for a proofread?”

“Yeah,” there was a sigh in his words, “it didn’t go bad, but it didn’t go well.”

Nico was about to ask another question but Hazel returned them, a steaming to-go cup in her hand.

Hazel pushed over a caramel latte with a sympathetic expression, “Here. It’s on the house,” she winked at him. “Perks of being sister to the owner.”

Will was already fumbling with his wallet. “I couldn’t -”

“Take it,” Nico set a bagged up blueberry muffin next to it, “the owner insists.”

Will took it but gave Nico an experasted look. “This is too much. At least let me pay for the muffin.”

“Hey, this is purely in self-interest,” Nico told him, “Getting in good with a future doctor will only benefit me. This is all to help myself.”

“God, you sound like you’re in the mafia or something,” Will paused and squinted at him. “Wait, _are_ you in the mafia? I mean, the muffins might be worth it -”

“No,” Nico interrupted, laughter in the word even as some of Hades’ shady dealings came to mind. “Not all Italians are in the mafia.”

“Not all doctors are worth having in your debt,” Will said. “What if I’m a terrible doctor?”

Will’s voice was teasing but Nico’s was strong and sure. “You won’t be,” Nico said. “I know it.”

The strong faith in Nico’s voice visibly threw Will off for a few moments and, for once, he didn’t seem to have a smooth, witty comment to return with and stared at him wide-eyed.

“Well,” Hazel, who Nico had completely forgotten was there, spoke up to break the silence. “I hope you get some rest, Will. Burning out won’t help you in the long run.”

Will looked back to her in surprise, evidently having forgotten about her too. “Oh - oh, yeah, You’re right.” He swallowed and let a shy smile flicker back on his face. He held up the cup and plate. “Thanks.”

Nico waved him off. He turned back to his sister, ready to start back up their previous conversation, and stopped at the look on her face. “What?”

She almost looked disappointed. Finally, she sighed, shook her shoulders, and shook her head in exasperation.

“You’re impossible. Anyway, I have a class,” Hazel pecked his check and began to undo her apron. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

She must be planning on dropping in after her class, then. “See you.”

She shot him a grin, threw her visor to the coat hanger in the corner, and dashed out the employee entrance. He heaved a sigh. The employee door was only opened and closed by keys given to Mitchell and himself, but Leo hadn’t hesitated in quickly making copies and distributing them among their friends.  

Nico headed to his office and busied himself with looking over -- and paying -- a handful of bills. Mitchell was thankfully covering the front without any trouble, which also allowed him to get a headstart on his bakery orders for next week. However, as enough time passed, he eventually turned to the overflowing kitchen sink and began working his way through the dirty mugs, plates, and equipment.

Nico hadn’t expected owning a coffee shop to be all glamour, but he definitely hadn’t expected the dread of cleaning the smoothie machine. After only a few minutes though, Mitchell was rounding the corner and gesturing to the front.

“Leo’s at the counter and demanding your attention,” Mitchell knocked their hips together and easily took Nico’s place at the sink. “I’ll finish up back here, but you’ve got to brew a new jug of the chai.”

“Deal,” Nico agreed because in addition to the smoothie machine, cleaning out the milk steamer was one of his least favorite aspects about owning a coffee shop. He grabbed the chai and headed towards the front.

“What do you want.” Nico was asking even before Leo fully faced him, a wide grin in place.  

“I’m just coming to see one of my best friends and favorite former lover at work,” Leo, with his elbows balanced on the counter, leaned in. “Can’t I simply innocently drop in?”

“Nothing about you is innocent,” Nico muttered, taking the empty jar and refilling it with a pitcher. “What do you want?”

“Many things,” Leo told him in the leisurely voice, “I want to quit my job, I want the world to get miraculously less angry and I’m thinking I want pizza tonight for dinner, but right now?” He leaned forward with his head in his hand, “I think I want a latte.”

“You talk too much,” Nico remarked, already a full minute into preparing Leo’s usual drink. He was much too predictable. “What do you want?” He repeated, turning back to the man. Leo usually hopped behind the counter and made his own drink and left behind only a poorly written out I.O.U. -- if he asked for Nico himself, that meant he had something else to ask.

Leo finally stopped circling around it. “Come out with us tonight.”

“No,” Nico answered automatically, already knowing more was coming.

“C’mon, baby,” Leo grinned at him, “It’s _trivia night~”_

“Nope,” Nico didn’t even look up from the drink. “I’m way too busy. The shop is overrun with customers. My dog is sick. I have to wash dishes.”

Leo clicked his tongue, “Can you at least tell me that when I’m not standing in your completely deserted shop, or when I’m not aware of your dogless apartment?” He sighed. “You don’t even own regular dishes. I know Hazel’s still trying to convert you off paper plates.”

“I hate washing dishes,” he argued without an ounce of shame, “you know this.”

“Everyone hates washing dishes, but we all do it,” Leo argued right back, “it’s not my favorite thing to do, yet I own a set of regular people dishes.”

“That’s solely because of Jason and you know it,” Nico pointed out, dropping the metal stirrer in the sink and sliding the mug over. He came out from behind the counter to replace the chai jar.

“Nico, baby, please,” Leo clapped his hands together and took advantage of his appearance. “Do you want me to beg?” Without prompt, he fell to his knees. “I’ll do _anything_ \--”

“Get up,” Nico shoved Leo’s shoulder back so he swayed unsteadily. “This is a place of business, no one wants to see you like that.”

“That’s not what you said when --”

“Stop,” Nico rubbed at his forehead. “Fine. Fine! I’ll come.”

“Oh, thank the gods.” As he stood, Leo slumped forward and clenched at his chest. “I thought we were gonna have to forfeit to the Romans.”

At that, Nico had to laugh. “That’s who we’re facing? Reyna, Frank, Hazel and them?” He shook his head, “If I knew we were just gonna lose, I wouldn’t have agreed. Is it too late to back out?”

“C’mon,” Leo draped himself over Nico’s shoulders. “If not you, who else is gonna feed us abstract and weird 19th-century literature facts?”

He pushed Leo off. “Annabeth’ll probably know.”

“She didn’t know last week,” Leo argued, “and it was a question on _Poe.”_

Nico paused, intrigued despite himself. “Do you...remember what it was?”

Leo made a motion to visibly think, “Where was ‘The Raven’ was originally published? Annabeth guessed one of his poetry books.”

Nico scoffed, “Really? It was in the New York Evening Mirror magazine. He worked there.”

When he looked back to the other man, Leo’s eyes were nearly glittering.

“You’re right,” Leo beamed. “No one got that one.”

“I -” Fuck. How did Leo know all his weak spots? Specifically his literature related ones? He couldn’t be that easy to read.

Leo’s eyes were twinkling with humor as he stared at him, “So?”

Nico dropped his shoulders and let his head fall down onto his draped arms. “Fine,” He said into his folded arm, “but you’re paying for the Uber.”

* * *

“Nico’s here,” Jason said in near-awe, “oh my god, I thought Leo was joking. You haven’t been to trivia night in _months!”_

“I’m a business owner,” Nico said, sliding off his jacket and hanging it around his chair. “I’m busy.”

Jason was nearly bouncing. “This is great. I - I should call Hades.”

Nico groaned. “Don’t you _dare._ I’m not hanging out with my father at a bar on a Friday night.”

Jason frowned slightly and clenched at his phone. “I was just going to tell him, I wasn’t going to tell him to come.”

“He’d have Jules-Albert driving before the call was over and you know it,” Nico pointed at him in threat. “Don’t you dare. You can save the gossip for your weekly call.”

“We’re probably going to have a full table anyway, babe.” Piper nudged Jason’s attention back to her. “Percy got some time off from school, remember?”

Like a switch, the excitement was back in Jason’s eyes. “We’ve been snapchatting all day.”

“And how many times have you two exchanged _‘dudes’_ since then?” Nico asked, causing the other two to laugh. Jason gave him a confused look.

“You kind of become a total frat boy around Percy, hun.” Piper pointed out.

Jason frowned. “No, I don’t. We’re just best friends. I mean, he’s in Greek life at school?”

“Sure, hun,” she patted his cheek, “I’m glad you two are so close. But, you have to admit. This --” She gestured to all of Jason, “is a whole new thing around fish boy.”

“Am not,” Jason told her, right before another customer signaled him over. As Jason made the drink, the three of them turned to each other.

“Think they’re gonna do it?” Leo asked nonchalantly, still chewing his way through a plate of fried kettle chips.

“Of course,” Piper and Nico answered together. Piper didn’t even look up from her phone.

“They’d never pass up a chance,” Leo agreed, wiping a swipe of grease directly onto Nico’s jeans. Nico shot him a dark look but, before he could say anything, the door crashed open.

Percy was standing in the doorway, and the light behind him light up his figure almost like religious imagery. He paused there for a moment, probably purely for the dramatics of it all, before stepping fully into the bar.

“Bro,” Jason gushed and jumped fully over the counter, but didn’t rush forward. “You’re home!”

“It’s almost like he was scheduled to be,” Nico muttered, but still turned to look. It was always a sight to see, as much as the three of them rolled their eyes about it.

“Dude,” Percy yelled back, “it’s been forever!”

“A month,” Piper correctly, finally looking up from her phone. “It’s been a month. A little less, I think.”

“27 days,” Leo offered, the calendar on his phone providing evidence. “If we’re gonna be exact.”

“It’s felt like forever,” Jason grinned before wiping his face clear of all emotion. Nico sighed.

Jason held out his arm, an invitation, and met Percy’s eyes.

“Nobody puts Baby in the corner,” Jason said seriously, much to their loud groans.

Percy lit up, almost like it was a surprise, and immediately backed up a handful of paces. At Jason’s nod, a look of determination came over his face. He ran forward just as Jason took his stance. In a smooth, incredibly practiced move Jason easily lifted Percy above his head -- _Dirty Dancing_ style -- and held him there.

They did this _every_ time.

Ever since they perfected it in high school, probably at some slow party where both parties were tipsy enough to consider the idea but sober enough to pull it off, they’d been performing the act at every occasion.

“I’m a bit impressed Jason can still do it,” Nico had to admit, eyeing his friend’s built muscles. “Especially since Percy’s bulked up from the university swim team.”

 _“Please,_ ” Piper blew air up into her bangs, looking amused despite herself. “Jason got a gym membership so he could keep up.”

“God, they’re such nerds,” Nico shook his head, an almost smile in place. Although his high school crush -- and mortification about said crush -- had long since faded, he had to admit there was a certain contagious factor about the pure joy etched on the dark-haired man’s fine features.

Jason was now holding Percy bridal-style, both of them beaming at each other.

“You’re the Jennifer Grey to my Patrick Swayze,” Jason told him seriously, “if you ever need to get gay married --”

“You’re my go-to,” Percy finished for him, winking. “I mean, honestly, Annabeth is refusing to get married before her PhD is finished, and I could really use those tax benefits.”

“Speaking of your better half,” Piper interrupted them before they could go any further, “where is Annabeth? She’s our only chance at winning.”

Jason finally let Percy to his feet and his attention was dragged away as one of his amused-looking coworkers called him back to the bar.

“She’s driving separate,” Percy’s chest was nearly puffed up in pride as he answered Piper. “She’s TA-ing a few classes this semester so she has to hold later office hours.”

“How many criers has she had this semester?” Nico asked, amused.

Percy sighed. “Enough that she’s taken the tissue boxes out of her office. She says it only encourages them.”

Piper snorted, “Thatta girl.” She nodded in approval. “Those undergrads have no idea what’s in for them.”

Percy nodded, a proud expression on his face. “You know, she’s on track to finish her doctorate -”

“- two years under the expected time.” Piper finished for him, smiling. “Perce, my dude, I love you but if you start rambling about Annabeth’s accomplishments before I’ve finished my first drink, I’m gonna have to body check you.”

Percy raised an eyebrow just as Jason was coming by with an overflowing tray of food and drinks.

“Dude, tell me something,” Percy looked to Jason, “without any context, who do you think is right -- me or Piper?”

Immediately, Jason shook his head as he transferred the food to the table.

“Can’t answer that, I’m a neutral party,” Jason grinned and held up a greasy basket, “only here to deliver mozzarella sticks and beer.”

“And appletinis,” Leo said happily, taking the brightly colored drink off the tray. His obnoxious usual. Piper and Percy shared a look for a moment before apparently dismissing the topic.

“The Romans are almost ready,” Percy commented, nodding to the other side of the bar. “You guys ready?”

“Ready to _destroy_ those know-it-all wanna-bes?” Leo grinned, “Of course.”

“Weren’t you just over at Hazel’s last night?” Nico asked, unimpressed. From Hazel’s many and increasingly incoherent texts in his late text log, he already knew the answer.

“That’s different,” Leo sniffed. “That’s Hazel. We’re soulmates.”

“Oh, yes,” Nico nodded, “I forgot. And how’s Frank taking that?”

“For your information, he was the one who bought us matching gear.”

“Is that why we now have a pair of booty shorts with ‘spicy’ on the ass?” Piper wondered out loud. “I saw them in the laundry.”

Leo nodded along like she was proving his point. “Hazel’s got the ‘sweet’ half.” He grinned. “Hers has a pair of cherries on the pocket.”

Jason shot him a fond smile then turned back to the group. “Good luck guys. I heard it’s a tough night.”

“You better not defect and join their team again,” Leo muttered, bitter despite the sugary drink in his hand.

“One of their members was sick! They would have been disqualified and I owed Reyna a favor.” Jason argued, nearly wounded at his tone.

“You’re lucky that favor was _just_ trivia night,” Piper pointed out, taking a sip of her beer.

Jason gestured to Piper as if evidence for Leo. The other man only rolled his eyes.

“I’m just saying,” Leo smoothed his curls back, “your sports history knowledge could be a real asset to the team.”

“Percy knows more than me,” Jason said loyally.

Percy gave him a pleased grin. “Dude, you could totally beat me in baseball history. Remember when you got that question on the Dodgers in the 50s? You’re so smart.”

“No, bro -”

“We’re not getting into a dude love fest,” Nico interrupted before they could go any farther. He looked to the call. “Aren't we starting soon?”

“Worry not,” Annabeth threw herself down into the saved seat in between Piper and Percy. “Your _Anassa_ has arrived.”

Nico flicked a chip at her in greeting. “Took you long enough.”

“Ah, di Angelo. I wasn’t aware we would be privileged enough for your presence tonight. What a joy.”

“Heard you bombed last week’s Poe question and I had to come save our reputation,” Nico took incredible joy from the pinched look that came across her face. “Such a shame, really.”

“I invest in the more practical subjects, actually.” She began pulling apart a mozzarella stick. “If you’d like, you can always take one of the quantitative analysis questions tonight. There’s always one or two.”

Nico narrowed his eyes at her and she stared straight back at him, her face blank. Finally, his lips twitched upwards and let out a small laugh, her own face following similarly.

Jason sighed, the sound tight. “Do you two have to roast each other every time you see each other? Can’t you just say hello?”

“Boring,” Annabeth said, stealing a fried mushroom off Percy’s place and popping it in her mouth.

Nico nodded in agreement, “It’s always nice to hear what creative insults she comes up with. Occasionally, I’m even impressed.”  

She threw a grin at him before turning to speak to Piper. A few minutes later, the announcer stood and they were starting.

Science questions were Leo’s specialty -- with Annabeth’s occasional input -- along with pop culture, which got them a few points. Piper, apparently, had seen every movie ever produced and didn’t even hesitate to steal away the notebook and scribble down correct answers for film history and movie stars. Nico took over for the sparse literature questions -- disappointingly, none about Poe but one about Austen and another for Elliot -- and threw in a few answers for history. Outside of sports history, Percy was eager to add in on music and animals. Annabeth, of course, knew the most and flew through the questions without much error or hesitation.

Although, the Romans wouldn’t be their main enemies if they weren’t in the same boat. Near the end, their scores were tied -- a fact that lead to many death glares shared among the two groups. Nico, catching Reyna’s eye, stuck his tongue out purely to watch her shake her head.

“Next, we’re doing some more pop culture -- some Game of Thrones trivia,” she smiled into the mic as she unfolded the card. “Two languages have been made up for the iconic HBO TV show,” she read off the card. “Name them.”

Percy jumped forward in excitement. “Dothraki and High Valyrian,” he breathed out. “Write it down.”

“Are you --”

Leo hardly got the question out before Percy was leaning in incredibly close, his expression grave and serious. “I have devoted over 400 hours of my life to that show.”  He swallowed, “Write it down.”

Leo blinked once, twice, before wordlessly doing so and passing the notebook over to Annabeth’s waiting hand.

“Never doubt his GOT knowledge in moments of stress,” she advised sympathetically, “he only takes it as a challenge.”

“I’ll watch the series again if I have to,” Percy told them all as if there was real doubt in the air. “Just say the word --”

“Please don’t,” Annabeth groaned, “at this point, even I can quote that show and I’ve never made a real attempt to watch it.”

“It’s amazing,” Percy said seriously, “I love it so much.”

They, of course, got that point -- unfortunately, so did the Romans, which was a bit predictable considering Percy and Frank’s many long and ongoing debates about the show. They were near the end, only the bonus double or nothing question was left.

Annabeth, who had been staring at the other team with narrowed eyes, only nodded her head once in response to their waiting eyes. They were risking it all, apparently, probably only because the others were planning to as well.  

“And the bonus question,” the staff member grinned at the crowd, “is a bit harder than usual. Topic was picked by staff member, Hina--” said staff member held up a quick peace sign at the bar as she made a drink “--who picked from the Medical Science and Anatomy pile. Remember -- you get one chance for double or nothing. This is make or break time.”

The staff member, Katie, he thinks, opened up the folded piece of paper and shot them all a quick grin. “The bonus question is this: the first open-heart surgery was performed in 1893. Name one of the doctors.” She folded the paper closed and gestured to the timer, “You’ve got one minute, everyone!”

Nico was frozen in place and watched as slowly, a look of dread came over each of his teammates' faces.

“Fuck,” Annabeth said, looking angry. “Fuck.”

Piper dragged a hand over her face. “We should have abstained from the bonus question. Gods.”

Percy looked to have come to terms with their upcoming failure and rubbed at Annabeth’s back sympathetically. She looked angry enough to be shaking.

“Thirty seconds,” Katie said. The Romans had already turned their paper in but didn’t look incredibly confident. If the Greeks also got back to zero, they’d be in a draw. No one -- especially Reyna and Annabeth, who were glaring daggers at each other -- wanted that.

Leo sighed, “What are we putting? If no one knows the answer?”

Nico, his mouth still open in shock, swallowed. “Doctor Williams. Um. Daniel Hale Williams, I’m pretty sure.”

Everyone eyes automatically looked at him. He felt they would have been less surprised if he’d gotten up and sang the answer.

Leo gave him a surprised look. “What?”

Nico shook his head. “Uh, Will is doing his thesis on the history of heart medicine. Um. I’m pretty sure it’s that.”

“Will?” Percy said, confused, “Who’s Will?”

“There’s no time for that,” Piper said, shoving the notebook to Leo. “Are we going with it?”

“Just write it down, I don’t care if it’s right,” Annabeth said, her voice urgent. “We just need _something.”_

Leo did so, his handwriting surprisingly neat and clear, and ripped off the paper, folded it, and handed it in with only seconds to spare.

Katie restated the question, the tension in the room almost physical, and opened up the Romans’ answer first.

“The Romans wrote the answer ‘Axel Cappelen,’” Katie winced, “Sorry, nope.” Frank, at the Romans table who was the one to most likely provide the answer, deflated slightly.

Her eyes slightly widened as she unfolded their own paper and Nico held his breath. “The Greeks wrote ‘Daniel Hale Williams,’ which is actually correct!” She grinned. “Congrats, guys!”

Immediately, the Romans groaned out in disappointed loss, while the Greeks all stood up, most of them cheering. A bubble of elation filled his chest and he couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his cheeks. Hazel, across the room, shot him an excited thumbs-up, even though her team had lost.

“Fuck yes,” Leo screamed, his voice high-pitched. He drained the rest of his martini to celebrate, his eyes going unfocused. “Oh my gods, we won. Oh my gods.”

Piper punched his shoulder. “Good job, di Angelo. Knew we kept you around for a reason.”

Annabeth came over and grabbed his shoulders, staring him down. “How did you know that. How.”

Percy pried Annabeth’s hands away, a warm smile on his face. “Great answer!” He winked. “Although I am interested in hearing more about this Will guy.”

“Nope,” Nico dipped from under Annabeth’s hands, “forbidden information, sorry.”

Percy laughed and went over to meet the Romans, Annabeth tucked under his arm, and thankfully let Nico be.

Leo, at the bar now, had apparently managed to down another drink in their time since winning, something he was definitely starting to feel. As Nico came up to the bar, he instantly went to curl around Nico’s arm.

“di Angelo, you saved the day,” Leo was basically cuddling into his shoulder now, “wanna celebrate your victory and make out?”

“Ugh,” Nico pushed Leo into Jason’s waiting arms as he stood. Leo pushed his face into Jason’s shirt and inhaled deeply, smiling. “He’s your problem now.”

“A good one to have,” Piper said, her voice fond as she gathered up all the trays to pass to the waitresses. They all said their goodbyes -- Jason and Percy nearly tearful even though they had plans to hang out next weekend -- and departed.

He stumbled back to his apartment and didn’t even protest when the other three came in after him, Piper claiming she didn’t feel like digging for her keys and the other two silent. It would just be easier, Nico knew, and it wouldn’t be the first time they all cramped into his King size.

“Night, baby,” Leo slurred, pushing his face into Jason’s chest but reaching over to pat Nico’s head. “Sleep tight.”

“Shut up and sleep,” Nico muttered, but curled into Piper’s side.

* * *

 ****“You messed up the shift schedule.”

Nico paused and gave him a strange look. The shift schedule was only a formality at this point. He and Mitchell worked every day and the only thing that changed was who opened/closed -- a decision usually done via emojis the night before.

Mitchell gestured to the pinned up paper. “I told you my sister’s birthday is Monday, I can’t work that day.”

Fuck. Nico vaguely remembered that text.

Usually this wouldn’t be a problem at all --- Nico would handle it and call in reinforcements -- but family dinner was that afternoon, and, with him hosting, he would have to make an effort to clean and cook.

“You’re busy next Monday, but so am I,” Nico frowned and began pulling at his hair slightly as he thought, “I guess maybe I could ask Leo to close. Crap, no, he and Jason have a thing. Hazel? No, she has class…”

Mitchell gave him a false sympathetic look and reached up to pat his shoulder. “Nico. It’s _time.”_

“We can hold off a bit longer,” he tried to rationalize, “we’re - we’ll -”

“Drown,” Mitchell answered for him, “if we don’t get help soon, we’ll drown.” He bumped his hip into Nico’s, a grin on his face. “Poor you. Your shop is too successful for two employees to manage. How horrible.”

Nico let his head fall into his hands. He let out a large sigh before rubbing his face and straightening up.

“Fine,” Nico cursed, “Piper, Leo, and Connor. Tell them they’re hired.”

“Connor?” Mitchell asked with a confused tilt of his head.

“He’s been begging for a job here for months,” Nico rolled his eyes, “if he faints when you tell him, take a photo.”

Mitchell, still visibly confused, nonetheless gave him an amused nod of his head.

This was going to be a mistake.

But...maybe it was going to be fun too.

This promised to be true only an hour later, a crash from the cafe had Nico jumping up slightly in his office. After a few moments -- just when Nico was contemplating checking it out -- Mitchell came rushing in.  

 _“I thought you were kidding,”_ Mitchell told him through clenched teeth as his hands fumbled to wet a cloth.

“What did you say?” Nico asked, amused.

“I just, I just told him what you said! And that we’ll be co-workers now! And -” Mitchell looked so incredibly distressed, “I was teasing him so I gave him a small wink and he just _fainted!”_

Nico could hardly muffle the laughter through his hands. One important question occurred to him.  “Did you catch him?”

“This isn’t funny,” He hissed, rushing away as Nico followed at his own nonchalant pace.

“But did you?” He pushed. He needed to know how exactly he was going to roast Connor later on.

Mitchell huffed out a breath. “Of course,” he bit out, “I wasn’t gonna let him fall.”

Nico hummed, already thinking of the security film he’d need to be getting his hands on. He’d consider using it as blackmail, except Connor would probably be desperate to see it. Maybe incentive.

Mitchell had somehow managed to maneuver the other man into a chain and he rushed forward to attend to him. Nico hung back, amused.

“Connor?” Mitchell pressed the wet cloth against his forehead and cheeks, his tone worried. “Connor, honey, are you okay?”

At that, Connor’s eyes almost snapped open. Mitchell had the tendency to use nicknames when he was worried -- in one remarkable instance, he’d called Nico a _sweetheart_ as he worried over a particularly bad cut Nico had gotten -- but apparently, this was Connor’s first interaction with the habit.

“Honey?” Connor asked, his voice full with wonder. Mitchell’s cheeks went slightly red, but he still pressed the cloth over the other man’s face. “Am I - am I dead?”

“What?” Mitchell startled. “Of course not, you’re okay, you fainted.”

“Fainted,” Connor repeated weakly, sitting up a bit. His eyes flickered to Nico’s grin and a look of understanding came over his face.

“Have you eaten today?” Mitchell bit his lip. “I can whip something up for you -”

“I’m fine,” Connor said, his voice loud with embarrassment, “just tired! I’m totally absolutely fine!”

“You should grab the first aid kit out of the back,” Nico advised Mitchell, “there’s some Aspirin in there if he needs it.”

Mitchell nodded and retreated to find it. Nico met Connor’s wide, overwhelmed face and reached for the hook behind the counter.

“What’s our number one rule?” Nico asked, grinning.

“Don’t date the customers,” Connor replied weakly. Nico threw a balled-up apron to him.

“Good,” Nico shot him a knowing grin, “you better get ready. Mitchell’s training you tonight. Have fun.” As he walked away, he turned to yell over his shoulder, “We have cameras everywhere!”

Mitchell gave him a strange look as he passed by, the first aid kit in his hands, but said nothing. From his place, Connor was nearly hyperventilating.

Well, if anything, this promised to be exciting.

Later that day, as Nico ran the counter and Mitchell and Connor fluttered around the kitchen (gods, Nico hoped Mitchell remembered around the cameras), he was flicking through some game on his phone when the bell above the door rang out and he looked up to Will, who was already waiting on Nico.

The other man looked oddly serious, but much better than the other times he’d been here. He looked a bit more polished, a bit more put together in dark wash jeans, a loose but well-fitting sweater. He looked good -- even his hair was somewhat styled, a rare image from his loose and rogue curls.

“Hey,” Nico clicked off his phone and slid it in his pocket, “how are you doing? What can I get for you?”

“I’m doing well,” Will said, “but I’m not actually here for coffee.”

Nico paused as he was reaching for a mug. He gave Will a confused look. “A bagel or something? We just got some cranberry muffins -”

“I’m not here to buy anything,” Will said.

“Okay,” Nico dragged out the word, “so what _are_ you here for?”

“You know I’ve never actually bought something from here?” Will told him, cocking his head to the side with a knowing air. “Lou and I take turns. She buys the afternoon coffee once a week, I buy the morning smoothies on Mondays.”

Nico blinked at that. “But what about --”

“One time I used a giftcard,” he interrupted, “and twice you gave me free coffee. So, I’ve never actually purchased anything. I’m not _technically_ a customer.”

Nico swallowed. “Oh.” He tried to figure out what that actually _meant._ A long moment of silence fell between them.

Will let out a breath through his nose, an amused curl to his lips. “Okay. Fine.” Still holding tight onto Nico’s hand, he began pulling the other boy along. Nico followed, not really knowing, even as Will pulled him out of the shop, onto the street, and into the crowd.

Nico’s hand was still tight in Will’s. “Where -”

“Trust me,” Will gave him a reassuring squeeze, still pulling him along.

Nico did just that, an easy feeling coming over him, and allowed the other boy to drag him along. After maybe a block or so, Will made a seemingly random turn into a shop, took a few steps in so they weren’t directly in the doorway, and stopped.

“There,” Will finally dropped his hand, spinning around to face him. “Fixed.”

“...Fixed?” Nico glanced around. Will had brought him into a local bookshop, a favorite stop of Piper’s. “And what did you fix by bringing us...here?”

Will’s hands, instead of clenching at Nico’s, were now winding around Nico’s waist in a loose hold. “By bringing us here, to this used bookstore on this rainy Thursday, I am hereby starting our relationship at a different wonderful local establishment so therefore -” Will gave Nico a large, sparkling smile. “Our relationship will not be one of cliches. It will not start in your coffee shop. Not a coffee mug in sight, actually.”  

“I -” Nico took in his surroundings. “A used bookstore.”

“Yes,” Will agreed, “so?”

Nico stared at him for another long moment and, before he could talk himself out of it, put his hands on the other man’s cheeks and leaned in.

It wasn’t anything too deep -- they were in public after all, and Nico was never one for heavy PDA -- but it seems perfect for their start, for a beginning. It was soft, chaste, their lips pressing together and learning each other. Nico ran his fingers through Will’s curls, messing them up just a bit, and pulled away to lean his forehead against the other man’s.

“...not all cliches are bad.” Nico finally muttered.

“Good,” Will grinned at him, looking windblown from the kiss, “because we just kissed under mistletoe.”

“What?” Nico looked up with a trace of dread, “it’s _June.”_

“Time isn’t real,” Will shrugged, “there’s no use in arguing against that.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Nico said, still pulling the other boy closer. “We’re still not allowed to kiss in the shop. That’s a rule, I’m making it right now. Number #2, no kissing in the shop.” He’d have to inform Mitchell.

“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Will said goodnaturedly, “in the meantime though, my apartment is right around the corner.” He grinned at Nico’s interested look. “How about we go on my turf for once?”

Nico, his heart beating in his throat, tried for a smile that wasn’t too beaming. He wound their arms together and bumped their hips together, signaling for Will to walk on.

“If you have a Keurig, I’m going to set it on fire,” Nico said casually, “or just give it to Leo. Same thing.”

“I have a french press.”

“Oh, thank the gods.” 

* * *

“Can I get three Beach Blondes, no sugar in one?” Piper bagged up a cookie and passed it over with a smile, earning a few fumbled bills into the tip jar. “di Angelo, are we getting those peach teas anytime soon?”

“Be patient,” Nico muttered, dumping the cut-up fruit into the iced tea before capping them and handing them over. Already, she was hanging another few receipts on the wall, waiting for Nico to whip them up.

Leo was breathing hard as he emerged from the kitchen. “Something is burning,” he panted, “and not in a good way.”

“I’ve got it,” Jason said, jumping down from the counter with a brave look on his face. Fuck. Why was he always here? Was he gonna be Nico’s next employee too?

“Mitchell never burns anything,” Nico said, a bit numb. “I miss Mitchell.”

It was Mitchell’s day off and he said that “short of death, there will be no interruptions.” And even then, "it should be a confirmed one." Nico himself had had his first day off in six months last week. It was the weirdest experience ever.  

“Tough,” Piper said dryly. “Oh yeah, reminder -- the art show is tomorrow and is sold out. We’ll need to stock up on baked goods and finger foods.”

Nico paused as he began another latte. “I didn’t approve an art show here.”

“Oh, how unfortunate,” Piper said, not even looking sorry. “It starts at seven, by the way. Set-up begins at five.”

Nico sighed. “I hate you all.” He stared at the ceiling. “I miss when it was just Mitchell and I.”

“Fire us, then,” Piper raised an eyebrow. “Dare you.”

Nico pressed the next few drinks in her hands and said nothing but met her gaze in challenge. Despite the many, various times he’s ‘fired’ them, they each kept annoyingly showing up for their scheduled shift.

“You should take your break,” Piper said, handing the drinks to the waiting couple at the corner. “You’re getting cranky.”

Nico opened his mouth to explain to her exactly why his behavior was extremely justified, and actually he would _not_ be taking a break just because she told him to, when a familiar face popped up in the door.

“Oh, thank the gods,” Nico undid his apron and threw it at Piper without hesitation. Just then, the fire alarm began to go off, and Jason and Leo’s voices in the kitchen grew louder. He met Piper’s eyes as he rounded the counter. “Deal with it and don’t burn the place down and I won’t fight the art show.”

She waved him off and headed to the back, grabbing the fire extinguisher as she went. Will gave her, the alarm, then Nico a concerned look.

“Everything okay?”

“This place is chaos,” Nico sighed and let all the energy fall out of his shoulders. “I miss my boring, empty shop that was hardly paying the bills.”

Will made a sympathetic face and grabbed his wrist, a question on his face.

Nico nodded and let himself be dragged away. Will stopped when they were a few steps from the door and grabbed onto the lapels of Nico’s jacket.

“Hard day?” He asked, his thumb brushing Nico’s throat.

“Leo burnt the scones until they were small rocks of hate and Piper keeps forcing us to expand our brand name and host events for hipsters,” Nico said, a slight whine in his voice. “And I think I’m probably gonna have to hire Jason.”

“Jason will keep you sane,” Will said, smiling. “And you’ll probably need the extra staff with all the outreach Piper is doing.”

“My store is becoming a hipster hotspot,” Nico said, ‘“it’s horrible. Next thing I know, she’s going to host a Valentine’s Day event and you know how I feel about that fluffy love garbage in my shop.”

“I do,” Will grinned, the action luminous. “The fluffy love garbage ban is why we kiss on the curb outside your shop, after all.”

“Yeah, well,” Nico didn’t have a good response to that. Instead, he just pulled the other man closer and pressed their lips together.

Nico was always surprised by this -- on the curb outside the shop, next to loud traffic, occasionally raining while strangers jostled around them, Will’s kisses had no business being as good as they were. Nico could melt into them.

“Nico!”

Nico absolutely fucking froze, all sickly-sweet thoughts about Will’s lips fleeing. This was a nightmare. This was a nightmare come true.

Will pulled away, confused, and looked to the voice. “Who is that?”

“He’s a stranger,” Nico said, his voice desperate, _“I don’t know that man.”_

“My son!” Hades gushed, emerging from the limo that had pulled up to the curb. How could Nico not have noticed that? _How?_ He looked to Will, beaming. “My new other son!”

Will looked overwhelmed with surprise. “Is this your father?”

Jules-Albert was watching from inside the limo. He tried to mentally portray a signal for help, but Jules just shook his head gravely.

Hades didn’t hesitate to run forward and envelope them both in a hug, “How wonderful! Oh, I can’t wait for tonight!”

“What are you doing here,” Nico asked, his voice muffled through the fabric. At his side, Will was shaking -- either with horror or humor, it was hard to tell. From the muffled sound of his laughter, it was easy to guess which.

“Oh, dear, did Hazel not tell you?” Hades voice told him that he already knew Nico was uninformed. “What a shame. Family dinner was rescheduled to this afternoon.” An expression of delighted surprise came over his face. “What a perfect opportunity to introduce your new significant other to the family!”

“We’re not doing family dinner tonight,” Nico told him through clenched teeth, and somewhat succeeded in pulling him and Will both away from the embrace. He pulled Will to the side with him, who went happily. 

“Family dinner?” Leo asked, poking his head out of the front door. Before Nico could say anything, he was turning back to yell in to the store, “Family dinner at di Angelo’s tonight!”

In the distance, Nico heard a crash. Moments later, Jason emerged, breathing hard as he hung out the door. “Family dinner?”

“No, no family dinner,” he told them sternly, “is the shop still on fire? That’s the important thing.”

Jason waved a hand towards the shop like that question was ridiculous to ask when they were discussing such an important topic.

He looked to Hades, his eyes wide with excitement, “Family dinner?” He repeated.

“Family dinner,” Hades agreed, matching his excitement. Nico watched his father’s arms with a careful eye -- they would _not_ be caught again.

“I...could go for dinner,” Will said slowly, a bit of red coming to his face as everyone looked to him. There was a moment of silence.

“We’re having family dinner!” Leo screamed, jumping on Jason’s back who caught him easily. Jason himself looked close to tears, as if they just hadn’t had family dinner a few weeks ago.

Hades managed to pull Will in close again, already babbling about what cuisine they could sample and the plate settings. Nico sighed and let his head fall back. There was no fighting it now. If Will was determined to drop himself in crazy, Nico would force himself to come along.

In the doorway, Piper came up and leaned against the doorway. She clicked her tongue.

“You’re whipped, di Angelo,” Piper shook her head like he was pathetic.

“You wanna talk about being whipped?” Nico challenged. “Remember when Jason wanted to go to Six Flags? And he was sad when they were closed for the season?”

She raised an eyebrow but still couldn’t hide the rare color in her cheeks. “Like you wouldn’t have done it.”

“You mean called my dad and have him buy enough stock in the park that you’re basically now a part-time owner?” Nico made a face. “Can’t say I have.”

Piper still didn’t back down. “Just wait,” she jerked her chin towards Will, “you will. Maybe not that exactly -- hopefully not that exactly, the amusement park business isn’t a great one to be in -- but. Something similar.”

Nico looked to Will, who was now nodding excitedly along to Hades’ plans. Jason was still holding Leo on his back but now they were close enough to participate in the conversation, each of their faces lit up. Will let out a loud laugh and tipped his head back, his eyes dancing. He fit in well there, with his family. He’d fit in better at the dinners too -- jokes with Hazel, medical stories with Frank, the same careful, caring look in his eyes as Persephone.

“Yeah,” Nico sighed, “I know.”

He watched them all for another few moments before turning to Piper, throwing his hands up. “Well, let’s get going! This shop isn’t going to run itself!”

**Author's Note:**

> i want to add i made percy a game of thrones fan before the last season came out and i already had that entire scene written so we're gonna pretend that this current season wasnt a hellscape (fanfiction is where everything is okay)  
> im so sorry if i butched everything to do with Will's med school and Phd. I am nothing but a lowly english undergrad and googling could only get me so far  
> hope you guys liked! i've been loving this idea for a while and since i moved to chicago, i have been frequenting the most hipster of hipster cafes. im in one right now and the coffee is in a mason jar. they have fairy lights and a hashtag. i love it here.  
> follow me at rosyredlipstick.tumblr.com!


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